I don't think this has been posted before (did a search and couldn't find it, so apologies if it has)....
I was just searching for some information on Merzbow's late 80s releases a few weeks back when I stumbled across this:
Every Merzbow ranked from worst to firstIts been updated at least till 2023 so might be missing a few, but still....
I've always felt it pointless to assign numeric rankings for the albums of any artist, even if they have only a handful or releases, let alone a discography as gargantuan as Merzbow's. I mean, what makes number 3 better than number 4? A favorite release of mine will vary from time to time, even from day to day, depending on what mood I might be in.
All that said, this is still impressive. Its clear, at least with the upper rankings, that these writeups are the result of multiple deep listens. The sheer amount of time and effort that must have gone into this is incredible. Especially since the author even did the same thing for every disc of the Merzbox! (
https://rateyourmusic.com/list/Electricwatersheep/the-merzbox-an-in-depth-review-of-every-disc/)
I certainly don't agree with all the rankings (and the author is pretty clear that they'd never expect anyone to agree), but it definitely made me reconsider my preferences and want to relisten to some stuff. The top 50 is by no means dominated by just "analog era" releases, either. I will say that, again, while I could never put something as "the best" for anyone, I do agree the choice for #1 is one of my favorite things Masami has put out, and definitely underrated. (I won't spoil it)
Something to get lost in, reading for an hour, at least.